Unified Multimetric Index for the Evaluation of the Biological Condition of Streams in Southern Brazil Based on Fish and Macroinvertebrate Assemblages

We developed MMI models that combine responses of fish and benthic macroinvertebrates for the evaluation of the biotic integrity of streams. The MMI was developed using a dataset covering stream sampling sites in the South of Brazil. Reference streams were identified based on the physical and chemical conditions and riparian vegetation. Thirty-four metrics were calculated and evaluated for their range, redundancy, and responsiveness to the...